Shloka 7
द्रोणेन केकय-चेदि-वीरवधः
Droṇa’s engagements with the Kekayas and Cedis
ते तु नामाड़किता: पीता: कालज्वलनसंनिभा: । स्नायुनद्धा: सुपर्वाण: पृथवो दीर्घगामिन:,अर्जुनके बाणोंपर उनका नाम अंकित था। उनपर पानी चढ़ाया गया था। वे कालाग्निके समान भयंकर, ताँतमें बँधे हुए, सुन्दर पंखवाले, मोटे तथा दूरतक जानेवाले थे। उनमेंसे कुछ तो बाँसके बने हुए थे और कुछ लोहेके। वे सभी भयंकर थे और नाना प्रकारके शत्रुओंका संहार करते हुए पक्षियोंके साथ उड़कर युद्धस्थलमें प्राणियोंका रक्त पीते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
te tu nāmāṅkitāḥ pītāḥ kālajvalanasaṃnibhāḥ |
snāyunaddhāḥ suparvāṇaḥ pṛthavo dīrghagāminaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Those arrows, bearing their maker’s marks and anointed, looked like the blaze of Time’s consuming fire. Bound fast with sinew, well-jointed and well-feathered, thick and far-flying, they were fashioned for relentless killing—an image of war’s engineered cruelty, where skill and craft are turned toward the taking of life.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war transforms human ingenuity into instruments that resemble ‘Kāla’—inevitable death. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of martial excellence when directed toward destruction.
Sañjaya is vividly describing the arrows used in the battle—marked, treated, sinew-bound, well-feathered, thick, and long-ranging—emphasizing their terrifying, death-dealing power.